question about a share in freehold

[bongoboy]

I have seen a lovely apartment on the internet, it is leasehold with an annual maintenance/service charges.
At the bottom of the apartment description it says this:-

LEASE DETAILS

A reimbursement of £1,000 is included in the asking price of the property in exchange for a share certificate for the freehold of the block.


Does anyone know what this means and would i be liable for work to the block of apartments in the future because of the above statement.

I'm not sure about viewing it now, i will ring the estate agents after the bank holiday regarding this.

many thanks

[boxtops]

I would imagine it means that the leaseholder is looking to sell the freehold of this flat to the new purchaser. I was the freeholder on a block of two flats and we had to be very clear in all our legal documents what our responsibilities were - we shared costs of work on drains and roof, for example, but external windows and doors were the responsibility of each flat owner.
That's my understanding, but you really need to ask the estate agent for clarification.

[bongoboy]

thank you boxtops

i am going to ring the estate agents on Tuesday, i don't know very much regarding leasehold, i thought that the annual maintenance and service charges which are rather expensive would cover things like roofs etc.

thanks again

[boxtops]

They would if you were a leaseholder - but if you own part of the freehold, you need to find out how that part works. My MIL is in a leasehold property and when the roof needed fixing, the landlords charged the occupants extra - the maintenance charges only cover routine maintenance. You'd need to find out exactly what's in the flat's maintenance agreement.

[bongoboy]

thank you again boxtops, i have written down some questions i need to ask on Tuesday regarding what you mentioned in your answers.

[ladybirder]

And you need to ask if there is a Sinking Fund and if so how much is in it. Sinking Funds are used for the big jobs, over and above usual maintenance charges.

[bongoboy]

thanks ladybirder, i will ask that as well.